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IN THE MIDST of the ongoing war, Maher Walid Ghanem, 46, from Deir al-Balah was shocked when his wife, Fidaa Ghanem, 44, was diagnosed with cancer.
The diagnosis came on 3 March during the height of the war.
Despite the critical need for treatment, Fidaa’s referral to Israel for medical care was blocked on 7 May, the same day the Israeli army took control of the only possible route out of Gaza – the Rafah crossing.
Fidaa’s condition has worsened dramatically due to the war. She has lost half of her body weight and has been unable to undergo essential medical tests. The only hospital able to conduct these tests, the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, has been out of service since the start of continuous military operations at the end of May.
“The Turkish Friendship Hospital is supposed to be the shield for cancer patients, but now it offers no treatments at all,” Maher told The Journal‘s reporter in Rafah.
“My wife is in the internal medicine department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which is not the appropriate place for her. It’s the only hospital we can go to, whether for war injuries, regular illnesses, or cancer patients, despite it not being specialised.”
Maher revealed the extent of Fidaa’s illness: “The cancer was found in her thyroid and liver, and by April, it had spread alarmingly. The thyroid gland swelled from 3cm to 7cm, the disease reached the aorta, and there are multiple spots on her abdominal wall, stomach lining, and pancreas. This is a very dangerous situation.”
The couple has seven children — five daughters and two sons — who are deeply affected by their mother’s illness.
“They are more pallid from their mother’s illness than from the war itself,” Maher said.
We need healthy food, which is unavailable.
“We survive on canned goods, and even cooking gas is scarce, making it impossible to prepare nutritious meals.”
Maher concluded with a plea: “I urge all honourable people to act to end this war and take responsibility, at least to provide treatment for cancer patients. Access to treatment is the least we can ask for in this war.”
The Israeli army appears to have turned the Turkish Friendship Hospital (which was shuttered in November 2023) in the Gaza Strip, formerly the only facility dedicated to cancer patients established in 2015, into a military base.
The closure of the Rafah crossing since 7 May and stringent travel restrictions have placed the lives of 10,000 patients in severe jeopardy.
Dr. Mohammad Abu Nada, a pediatric consultant and the medical director at the Turkish Friendship Cancer Hospital, stated that hospitals in the Gaza Strip are now without chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
He noted that over 1,000 cases have not been properly diagnosed over the past five months due to the targeting of the hospital and its medical staff.
The Turkish Friendship Hospital is located in the Zahra area, which has become part of the military separation line between the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
As a result, accessing this hospital for treatment has become impossible. The entire area has been transformed into a military base within the Netzarim Axis, covering approximately 6 square kilometres and extending from the eastern to the western parts of the Strip.
Israeli forces are stationed in this axis and are working to expand the area logistically to maintain their presence and enforce the separation between different parts of the Gaza Strip.
According to a recent report from Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), before the 7 October attacks, about 2,000 Gazans a month were referred for treatment to the West Bank or East Jerusalem. Most of those were cancer patients.
However, the report said that Israeli authorities have now “suspended indefinitely the issuance of referral permits, cutting off an estimated 1,500 cancer patients from lifesaving services and putting them at imminent risk, a situation exacerbated by the closure of Gaza’s sole cancer facility”.
In March this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 8,000 patients needed to be medically evacuated from Gaza, including 6,000 patients with trauma-related injuries and 2,000 with chronic conditions such as cancer.
“These individuals are risk joining the already overlong list of ‘silent killings’ in Gaza,” the MSF report says.
Also in March, the Supreme Court in Israel blocked government plans to send cancer patients who were receiving treatment in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv back to the Gaza Strip.
However, The Journal has learned that these patients have since been told they need to submit individual applications detailing why they should be allowed to stay.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) has to date lodged applications on behalf of 19 patients. Up to 40 people are affected. More applications are expected to be lodged prior to the 19 June deadline.
According to a press release from the Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza, there are approximately 10,000 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip living without the minimum required medications or treatment sessions. Many of these patients remain stranded, unable to obtain medical referrals to Israeli or regional hospitals as they could before the war due to the closure of crossings.
The ongoing war has resulted in the deaths of many patients. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 57 cancer patients died last March because they did not receive any doses of the required medications.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, stated that the Israeli authorities deliberately aims to eliminate healthcare presence in Rafah and the northern regions. He emphasised the lack of healthcare capacity to deal with the ongoing massacres in Rafah and the northern sector.
In a statement, Al-Qudra noted that “the Israeli occupation deceives the world by claiming the Mawasi areas are safe while committing horrific massacres there”.
The Palestinian official called for the urgent introduction of field hospitals and medical teams to Rafah and northern Gaza, and for the provision of safe corridors for the immediate delivery of fuel and medical aid.
He also demanded an end to the continuous Israeli threats against healthcare institutions and staff.
The Journal knows the identity of the reporter on the ground in Gaza but has used a pseudonym for security purposes.
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